The present invention relates generally to devices for repairing athletic shoes and more particularly to a device for repairing the worn front sole or tip portion of a tennis shoe.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,578, it is well known to provide various methods and devices for repairing the front or tip portion of the sole of a tennis shoe which has been worn excessively with respect to the rest of the shoe as a result of dragging the back foot when hitting the ball.
One such solution is the placing of a hollow, generally hemispherical, rubber device over the tip of the shoe and gluing it in place. The present inventor accomplished this for many years by cutting an old tennis ball in half and gluing it over the front of his worn shoe.
Such devices are somewhat effective but are uncomfortable and do not truely conform to the contours of the shoe. As a result of the latter defect, gluing is at points or along relatively short surfaces of contact and the device does not hold as well as desired. Also edges of the device do not properly conform to adjacent surfaces of the shoe and soon come loose. Additional problems of producing an effective bond and providing a comfortable device result from the added stiffness of the shoe resulting from such a device. The landing material is strained due to non-compliance of the device with movement of the shoe. Discomfort results from the feeling of bulk incident to a mass of material across the front portion of the sole of the shoe and the incidental stiffness over the toes.
An object of the present invention is to provide a device for repairing the worn tip of a shoe, which device may be applied so as to cover only that lateral part of the sole of the shoe that is worn.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for repairing the worn tip of a tennis shoe which device is fabricated from a material more flexible than the sole or side of the shoe so as to be able to adjust and conform more closely and easily to the toe portion.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a topless device for repairing the worn front part of the sole and front of a tennis shoe which device has a curved vertical member for bonding to the side and front of the shoe and a bottom member having an outer edge extending between the ends of the curved vertical member, the vertical member following a gradually increasing curve between surfaces lying generally perpendicular to one another so that the device may be adjustably positioned by moving forward or backward and rotatable to conform to the side and only that part of the vertical part of the shoe that lies generally in front of the worn part and the nearest side of the shoe.